Mexico Day 4

Hola from Playa Del Carmen!
Have I really been here 4 days? feels like its going so fast. But not as fast as my clean laundry. Btw, I totally botched my packing job. None of my good tshirts are white- but thats about the only thing you can possibly wear here without dying. You may be reading about Mexican Laundromats in a few days...

Yesterday was my last day on my own- my new Mexican friends bailed on me but I stopped by a couple places to watch the World Cup finale and met a cool Australian guy and English woman. (Not even near the strangest international couple i have met- on my first night i met a 40 year old Ecuadorian guy with his 26 year old Lithuanian wife. they have 4 kids, and she made a strange habit of hugging everyone at Senor Frogs. Buthe was super cool- he looked real young too. couldn't tell they were different age).

The world cup was a fun time. a few die hards from both sides but a bit of a let down for the biggest sporting event in the world. I think my Super Bowl parties are better. Would have been different if Mexico made it of course.

Today was the start of my Spanish classes. The school is really nice and all the classrooms are in (well ventilated) outdoor huts. My class is for intermediate beginners and contains me, a mother and 13 year old son from Colorado, and a recent college grad from England. Actually, besides a couple families like the one in my class, pretty much EVERYBODY is foreign. There are Swiss, German, Brazilian (a guy, Darcel), Japanese, English, Scottish, Canadian, and I know I must be forgetting some. They all are decent english speakers and all nice, so it should be a good week. Tomorrow we are going to Tulum, a Mayan Ruins/Beach spot.

Of course having all international classmates, primarily European, means they ALL SMOKE. It is crazy. I feel like the ashtray on Hell's Kitchen. Luckily everything is open air.

Also, we now know the answer to "what will an american guy and a German guy have to talk about after they decide to go to the beach together" and the answer is pretty much nothing. A little soccer talk and a few "whats this like in your country" type questions, but it was really just kind of awkward and we spent the last hour reading on our own.

My teacher told us about one bar/club that projects a movie every monday night out in the open air near the beach. So I told every body that i would be coming and they should meet me. Then I couldn't actually find the place and they all probably think I stood them up =P. So it was back to the sports book for me to watch Big Papi take down the Home Run Derby. But first...

I decided to search around a little bit for a good cheap deal for dinner and found a cool looking taco truck a block off the main strip operated by a nice lady and her daughter. So i ordered 4 tacos (they seemed awful surprised I wanted so much even though they were the size of silver dollar pancakes). Then I sprinkled a tiny amount of green salsa and some cilantro and sat down to eat. First 2 tacos no problem. Third one started to feel the spice a little. By the fourth one it seemed like I had rubbed a habanero all over my mouth and lips. I started sweating and tearing up while the little girl chuckled at me. And jumped out of my seat and bolted for the main strip. No convenience store in sight, a slow walk turned into a semi jog through the crowds as tears streamed down my face and I found my saving grace, Hagen Daas. I ran in and quickly ordered a strawberry ice cream. She asked if i wanted 2 scoops and I said YES before reading the $9 price. Then downgraded to 1 scoop ($5.50, so much for saving money on dinner). She started trying to offer me toppings when I basically just blurted out I NEED THE ICE CREAM NOW and shoved my face right in it.

Free from my spicy fate, I was able to watch the derby in peace. But next time I think i'll pass on the salsa verde.

Ok, next time i'll have some Mayan ruins to speak of and finally some decent pictures! Until then...